Wiring construction for buildings.



I: No.'895 ,362. PATENTED Aim. 4,1908.

- A. L. GOLDSGHMIDT."

WIRING CONSTRUCTION PORBUILDINGS.

APPLICATION I I LED FEB. 5, 1307.

m Lbweowa To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ADOLPH L. GOLD- SCHMIDT, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York city, in the county of New York and State of N cw York, have invented certain new and useful Im rovements in \Viring Construction for Buil ings, of whichthe following is a full, clear, and exact de Aviring buildings, to have individual distributing stations or panel boards on each floor, which connect with the current mains running through the building, either to generators in the basement, or to the city supply. Each such distributing station or panel board rovides for the local supervision of the am s of the different floors, whereby an desired groups may be cut off. The loea circuits are in this way enabled to be individually protected by fuses. This style of construction has proved particularly convenient in large buildings having a limited number of floors each of considerable area. But the trend of modern construction is in the direction of making buildings higher and of less ground area, so that in some cases the number of distributing stations or panel boards becomes excessive in pro ortion to the number of lamps carried. oreover the current mains have to be interrupted and soldered connections made at each panel board, and inclosed in special pipes or conduits between the panel boards, so that the construction becomes exceedingly complex and expensive. The current carrying capacity of the mains is moreover im )aired by the frequentinterruption thereo at the panel boards.

It is the purpose of my invention to overcome all of these difficulties, and t provide uninterrupted current leads or mains throughout the entire system, and to provide forany desired distributin stations on every floor,

the capacity of one 1 of which may be varied from time to time to suit the requirements. Finally, I improve the construction by having a continuous conduit extending through- Specification oi! Letters Patent. Application filed February 5, 1901. Serial No. 355,87}.

still further and very important obiect,

WIRING CONSTRUCTIQN FOR BUILDINGS.

out the entire system without interru tion, instead of the arrangement usually emp oyc'd where there are intermittent short sections of conduit pipe interrupted by the panel boards.

Patented AuglA, 908.

.mTED STATES w FI E-f ADOLPH'L. GOLDSCHMIDT, or NEW YORK, N. Y.

In addition to all of these objects, I have a which is the saving of floor space. W IGI'G high steel frame buildings are used, the iloor space is generally very valuable, and the use of panel boards which take up two or three square feet or' area on each floor means a large annual loss in the way of rentals. It will be seen that in carrying out my invention, a construction is provided which takes up only a few square inches of floor space, hardly more than that of the usual mail chute, 1n

proximity to which the present invention.

may be installed, if desire \Vith these and other objects in view the invention consists in the features of construction and combination hereinafter set forth and claimed.

In the drawings: Figure l is a perspective view of a portion of the conduit of a. wiring construction embodying the principles of. my invention; Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the same; Fig.3 is another vertical section of the same, thc'plane'being transverse to that of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view on the line IV.IV of Fig. 3, looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 5 is a partial sectional view on the line VV of Fig. 2, looking'in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 6 is a top or face view of the structure shown in Fig. 4; Fig. 7 is a detail sectional view on the line VII-VII of Fig. 6'.

The essential principle of the present invention lies in the provision of husbars continuous throughout the entire height of the building to be wired, instead of individual bus-barsnat each local panel board on the different floors, connected by cable and conduit sections, as is now the usual construction. By having vertically extending busbars in this way, the current carrying mains or conductcrsa-re made continuous and of uniform cross section throu out the system, which is a very great practical advantage in that it avoids the usual losses due to numerous splicings and connections. In

parts are designated by the same reference z i i i i sign, 1 indicates a verticall extending tubular conduit, preferably rectangular section. This conduit'is conveniently made of sheet metal, and extends vertically upward through the entire building to be wired. In the dram'ngs only the extent of this conduit corresponding to three floors is illustrated,

and this is a good deal foreshortened verti- 2, of the conduit, although this is not absotact at their lower ends with The circuit connections -ing through the entire conduit 1.

lutely necessary. I prefer, however, to have the conduit enlarged at tween the floors, and a door thereat, through which access is had to the interior. It is,however, possible to merely have the glass front 4 of the'conduit removable in the manner of an ordinary mail chute.

5, 6 and 7, are vertical bus-bars, extend T iree of these bus-bars are shown, correspon ing to the three-wire-system of wiring, and each is a substantially rigid rectangular rod of copper or aluminum, or other conducting metal, supported by spaced cleats 8, along the con .duit, so as to be very efiiciently insulated therefrom at every point. The conduit bcing metallic furnishes the'ade' uate protection against fire required by t e insurance regulations.

3 provided I At the boxesor enlargements 2, or at any other point of the conduit where it is desired to establish a distributing station corre sponding to the usual panel board, I )IO- vide means or devices which are assem led ulpon the bus-bars 5, v6 and 7, so as to make e ectrical contact therewith, and establish the necessary branch lines or circuits. The means which I have adopted for this purpose is particularly shown in Figs. 4 and 6.

9 denotes a block or base of porcelain or insulating material, the essential characteristics of which are holes or openin s 10, spaced apart from one another such dis tances as to directly overlie the bus-bars 5, 6 and 7.

11 denotes ordinar cartridge fuses, which may be inserted in 1:-

ese holes so as to conthe bus-bars. 12 denotes a threaded collar at the up er ends of the holes 10, which receives a meta lic cap 13. When a cartridge fuse 11 is inserted in this hole and the cap screwed down there on, it is evident that a perfect electrical connection through the fuse is established between the bus-bar and the metallic collar 12. 14 denotes ordinary snap switches, with turn buttons 15, which are received in apropriate recesses in the porcelain base '9. of these snap switches are made to the metallic collars 12,

and to the extension or branch circuit wires The principle is, made sufliciently a point bei 16. As clearly shown in Fig.6, thedisposition of the fuses, snap switches, and connections is such that one branch circuit is made between the bus-bars 5 and 6, while. another separate branch circuit is made between the bus-bars 6 and 7.

.The branchcireuits being estahlislu-d in; 1

through t-heceiling to the points desired, and the circuits thereof are controllable h the snap switches 14, conveniently disposed hetwecn the floors. Not onlynre. the. circuits controllable by the snap switches, but they are protected by the fuses 1,1, which are all of the necessary functions of a distributing station or )anel board.

It will be noted that in Figs. 2 and 5, there arc'three separate sets of bus-bars at the lower )art of the conduit. This is an indication 0 one. important feature of the construction. For various reasons, and particularly to avoid an improper fall in' the volt-age at the remote distributing points, it is best to have separate feeders, one set for the first six or eight floors, another set for the second six or eight floors, and soon. In this way the lam s of the first floors do not shunt those of the upper floors to the loss of voltage at the latter, as would be the case if only one set of feeders or bus-bars were used. I pro? vide for these so aratc feeders by having a number of sets 0 bus-bars 5, 6 and 7, at the lower part of the conduit. At such lower floors, the merely on t e outermost tier of bus-bars, so thatthe latter are the only ones from which current is obtained at these floors. After the sixth or seventh floor, however, the outermost tier of bus-bars is interrupted, as shown at 20, and on the succeeding floors, the next tier of bus'bars becomes available for the distribution circuits. tier is finally dro ped off or interrupted at 21, and thereafter the lowermost or final tier of bus bars becomes available for the remaining or upper stories of the building. The different tiers of bus-bars are conveniently supported and insulated from one another by v aving the. cleats su exposed upon one another at the spaced lntervalslwhere supm Fig. 5.

orcelain blocks or bases 9 rest- The second If at any time the needs of any branch circuit increase beyond the capacity of a; single distributing base .9, with its two snap switches 12 5 port is required, in the manner clearly shown 14, it is evident that another base, or as many .socgsez the invention by which bases or blocks can be added or-removed at will so as to accommodate the varying requirements of each floor, as a very important one.

to be superposed on said bus-bars at any sc- In order to protect the conduit 1 atthe points where it emerges from the successive iloors, I provide in'practice a shield 22, which is of rigid construction, preferably cast iron, and extends around the conduit, projecting a few inches above the floor level. This plate is sulliciently strong and rigid to withstand the knocks and kicks to which it is subjected, and also provides a ready means for the attachment of the conduit pipes 19, through the outlet lugs or collars l3 thereon. It is evident that the form of the conduit 1 and the way in which the branch circuits or connections are made therefrom, is largely a matter of individual requirement and does not itself constitute an important part of the present invention.

What I,claim, is: ix

1. In a system of electrical distribution, a conduit extending vertically in a building continuously throu h the floors thereon: un-

insulated rigid busars extending vertl ally; therethrough in parallel and spaced apartre f lation to one another and to said conduit,

cleats for supporting the bus-bars at intervals, and means adapted to be superposed on the bus-bars at polntsbetween said cleats for establishing branch circuit connections there from.

2. In a system of electrical distribution a conduit extending vertically through t e floors of a building, rigid uninsulated busbars contained therein and spaced apart from one another and from said conduit, cleats for supporting said bus-bars at intervals, blocks including switches and fuses adapted to be superposed on said bus-bars at points between said cleats, and branch circuits therefrom. v

3. In a system of electrical distribution, it conduit extending vertically thro'. I gh a building and through the various floors thereof, rigid uninsulated bus-bars supported vertically in said conduit and spaced apart from said conduit and from one another, porcelain blocks having switches therein and adapted lected point along their length, and means including fuses for establishing branch connections from said switches to the busbars.

4. In a system of electrical distribution a conduit extending vertically through a building, rigid uninsulated bus-bars vertically I consider this feature of" contained therein and spaced apart from one means therefrom.

insulating cleats at spaced intervals for supsaid bus-bars and having enlargements bebetween said enlargements for establishin branch connections from said bus-bars, an branch c rcu1ts extending to said means and 1nents. I j 1 6. In a system' of electrical distribution, rigid bus-bars extending vertically in a building continuously through the floors thereof, insulating cleats at spaced intervals for supporting said bus-bars, a continuous conduit therefor, said conduit having lateral channels, and branch circuits from the bus-bars contained in said channels;

rigid bus-bars extending vertically in a building continuously through the floors thereof, insulating cleats at spaced intervals for su porting said bus bars, insulatin bloc adapted to be ositioned on said switches on sai blocks, said blocks having holes overlying the -bus-bars, and adapted to be inserted insaid holes for estab- =.bars to the switches.

ingcontinuously through the floors thereof, insulating cleats at spaced intervals for en porting said bus-bars, insulating bloc adapted to, be ositioned on said bus-bars and having hollis overlying the bus-bars cartridge fuses inserted in said holes, an means for establishing electrical connection with the upper ends of said fuses.

9. In a system ofefectrical distribution, rigid bus-b ars extending vertically in a building continuously through the floors thereof, insulating cleats at spaced intervals for su porting said bus bars, insulatim bloc adapted to be ositioned on said bus-bars, said blocks having holes overlying the busbars, fuses contained in said holes, threaded collars on said blocks surrounding the fuses,

ing branch circuits from said collars.

10. In a system of electrical distribution, a plurality of rigid bus-bars extending vertically in a building continuously through the floors thereof, insulatin cleats at spaced intervals for supporting said bus-bars, a continuous conduit therefor, branch connections from the bus-bars at' the various floors, and

fuses another and from said conduit, means adapted to be positioned-on 581d bus-bars at any N desired fpoint vertically ill the conduit, and

or establishing, branch connections 0 5, Ida system} of elcctiical distribution,- rigid bus-bars-exten'din'g vertically in abilild-i in continu'ousl 'throu h thefloors thereof" s y g 1 porting said bus-bars, a conduit inclcsing' tween the different floors, means at'p'oints leadin into said conduit at said enl'ar e-' O 7. In a system of electrical distribution,

us-bars,

8:. In a system of electrical distribution, rigidbus-bars extending vertically-in a buildcaps on said collars, and means for establish- 100 ishmg electrical connection from the businsulating blocks protecting shields 2 2 surroundim said conduit at the point of its passage through the floors, said shields extending slightly above the level of the floors, as and forthe purpose .set forth.

f1 1. In a system ofelectrieal distribution, a plurality of rigid bus-bars, a conduit therefor, adapted to be superposed on said bus-burs at any point longitudinally thereof and having holes overlying the bu's-' bars, fuse cartridges inserted in said h les for making electrical connections with the busbars, and switches carried b said blocks for controlling branch circuits t ierefrom.

12. In a system of electrical distribution, a conduit extending vertically through a building and through the various floors thereof, three rigid uninsulated bus-bars of rectan w lar transverse sections sup ortcd verticzilly in said conduit and space( a artfrom one o another and from said- 00! uit, porcelain blocks adapted to be superposedon said busbars at any desired point longitudinally therein, said blocks having single holes over lyingthe outside bus-bars and a pair of holes 'ture, in the presence of two witnesses.

overlying the middle lmsfbar, connecting means adapted to be inserted in said holes,- and switches adapted to establish-circuits between the two pairs lit-adjacent connecting neans thus provided.

13. In a sy stem of electrical listribution, a. plurality of l-IOIS of rigid bus -'l ars extending vertically in a building continuously through the lit. crs thereof, the dillerenttieis terminating at dill'erent levels and being; insulated from one another throughout their length, means for supeorting the bus-bars at spaced points along their length, and means placed on the bus-bars and supported thereby at dill'erent levels for establishing circuit connections therewith, whercb the dill'erent bus-bars are connected to different circuits,

the uppermost circuits being fed from the lowermost tier of bus-bars.

In witness whereof, I suoscnbe my slgna- ADOLPH L. GOLDSGHMIDT.

Witnesses:

WALno M. CrIArIN, MAY BIRD. 

